Claims
- 1. A cover for attachment to a padlock of the type having a body portion and an inverted, U-shaped shackle extending from the body portion, said cover having front and rear portions and including:
- an outer wall portion;
- retaining means adapted to prevent movement of the body portion of the padlock within said cover in a first plane defined by the shackle, said retaining means comprising an inner wall portion spaced laterally inward from said outer wall portion and adapted to receive and capture the body portion of the padlock; and
- securing means adapted to prevent movement of the body portion of the padlock within said cover in a second plane perpendicular to the first plane.
- 2. A cover for attachment to a padlock of the type having a body portion, an inverted, U-shaped shackle having a pair of opposed legs which extends from the top of the body portion, and a locking mechanism on the face of the body portion, said cover including an opening to permit access to the locking mechanism and further including:
- an outer wall portion;
- retaining means adapted to prevent movement of the body portion of the said padlock within said cover in a first plane defined by the shackle, said retaining means comprising an inner wall portion adapted to receive and capture the body portion of the periphery of the body portion of the padlock; and
- securing means adapted to prevent movement of the body portion of the padlock within said cover in a second plane perpendicular to the first plane, said securing means comprising at least one enclosed aperture provided in said inner wall portion through which at least one leg of the shackle of the padlock is adapted to pass and be captured therein when the padlock is in a locked condition.
- 3. The cover according to claim 2, wherein said outer wall portion is open at the top portion thereof to permit free movement of the shackle of the padlock.
- 4. The cover according to claim 1, wherein said securing means comprises at least one enclosed aperture provided in said inner wall portion through which at least one leg of the shackle of the padlock is adapted to pass and be captured therein when the padlock is in a locked condition.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of my co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 618,685 filed on June 8, 1984 and now U.S. Pat. No. 4,555,920 which was a continuation-in-part application of Ser. No. 554,903 filed on Nov. 25, 1983 which issued on Aug. 13, 1985 as U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,190.
The present invention relates generally to a padlock cover and, more importantly to such a cover which is not only aesthetically pleasing but which is tamperproof and which assists in rendering the padlock tamperproof.
One widely used type of padlock has a cylindrical body containing a combination lock operated by a rotatable knob on the front, and an inverted U-shaped shackle extending up from the body of the lock. Such locks are starkly utilitarian in appearance. Other types of locks are more U-shaped in appearance with means for opening the lock (i.e, keyhole or combination dials) provided at the bottom of the lock opposite the shackle. Such locks are also starkly utilitarian in appearance.
The present invention is directed to a novel cover for attachment to such a lock to improve and individualize its appearance, thereby making it readily identifiable from similar locks, such as in a row of lockers, as well as to protect the lock against damage from the outside.
The present cover in one embodiment is a one-piece, molded body, preferably formed from a relatively rigid and hard plastic, which can be assembled on or removed from a padlock relatively easily when the lock is open but which cannot be removed when the lock is closed except by damaging the cover itself. This inhibits a person from stealing the cover from the padlock.
In an alternate embodiment, the cover comprises two components which can be lockingly engaged about the padlock cover in a sandwich or clam-shell fashion. The engagement can be such that, once the cover is secured to the padlock, it cannot be removed without destroying the cover engagement mechanism or other portions of the cover.
A principal object of the present invention is to provide a novel cover for attachment to a padlock to improve its appearance and make it more readily distinguishable from other padlocks nearby.
Anothre object of the present invention is to provide such a cover which is attachable to or removable from a padlock when it is open, but is not removable when the lock is closed except by damaging the cover.
A further object is to provide such a cover which, after being assembled about the padlock, cannot be removed without damaging the cover.
Still another object of the invention is to provide such a cover which does not interfere with the usual operation of the padlock when the cover is in place.
To accomplish the foregoing objects and advantages, the present invention, in brief summary, comprises a cover for use in attachment to a padlock of the type having a body portion, an inverted, U-shaped shackle with a pair of opposed legs extending from said body portion and locking mechanism for locking and unlocking the padlock.
The cover, which includes front and rear portions, includes retaining means adapted to prevent movement of the body portion of the padlock within the cover in a first plane defined by the shackle. The retaining means comprise an inner wall portion surrounding the body portion of the padlock and which is adapted to receive and capture the body portion of the padlock therein. Securing means are further provided to prevent movement of the body portion of the padlock within said cover in a second plane perpendicular to the first plane.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Foreign Referenced Citations (3)
| Number |
Date |
Country |
| 154804 |
Oct 1938 |
DE2 |
| 203530 |
Sep 1923 |
GBX |
| 1365684 |
Sep 1974 |
GBX |
Continuation in Parts (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
| Parent |
618685 |
Jun 1984 |
|
| Parent |
554903 |
Nov 1983 |
|
Patent Grant
4819465
